Rental inspection policy approved

Creston City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the rental housing inspection program administrative policy. According to the policy, the purpose is to “provide safe and sanitary housing condition for the residents of Creston by establishing minimum standards and regular inspections for all rental housing units in Creston.”

Creston’s rental housing inspection policy and ordinance have been strongly discussed in the past year. Those against have argued the new rules will drive up prices and take away privacy from tenants. Those for the new rules worry about the safety and well-being of tenants.

On June 6, council passed the rental inspection ordinance, which requires landlords to register with the city and undergo inspections every three years through an inspector authorized by the city.

After this, the council continued ironing out details for the administrative policy. The Rental Housing Committee met Dec. 27 to finalize details before the vote. The committee includes councilmembers Jocelyn Blazek, Steve Wintermute and Kiki Scarberry.

One area brought up was providing waivers for tenants to sign indicating they do not want to go through a rental inspection. While some landlords expressed their support of this, Creston City Attorney Marc Elcock cautioned against it.

“I did speak to the city attorney and was advised not to do the waiver,” Scarberry said. “We will not be pursuing that any further and not be providing that for tenants under his suggestion.”

The committee also discussed when to have the policy start. Blazek wanted the to keep the beginning as close to Jan. 1 as possible, so as to stay on the calendar year schedule. However, Wintermute thought that would “create all kinds of havoc.”

While going through a variety of dates, the council decided Tuesday to set the start date as April 1. This would give the city time to get together everything that needs to be sent out to the landlords.

Another concern discussed by committee members was the wording regarding timeframes.

“In one place, there had been, ‘the inspection has to be completed within 60 days’ and in other places it says ‘the inspection has to be scheduled within 60 days,’” Blazek said.

The committee discussed whether to use the word completed versus scheduled.

“Let’s say they register it and they call this company and they say, ‘I want to have my property inspected,’” Mayor Waylon Clayton said. “Wouldn’t that constitute that land owner doing their job and then it’s on the inspection agency whether or not they get down there in 60 days?”

The committee agreed, changing the wording to scheduled rather than completed. If there is a delay between the registration and when the inspection agency is able to come in, a temporary compliance certificate will be available.

While no specific inspection company is named in the the administrative policy, the city does have a memorandum of understanding with Iowa Inspections LLC. This memorandum can be terminated by the council at any time.

In other council news...

The council approved the hiring of Brandon Hammons as a firefighter for Creston Fire Department, pending completion and passing of his physical testing and background check. Hammons is currently serving as a volunteer firefighter.

The restoration of the waterslide at the McKinley Park Aquatic Center (MPAC) was approved by the council. Fischer Bros., will be restoring the waterslide using funds from MPAC.

The council decided to continue with the notice to abate nuisance of a potentially dangerous dog, meaning the animal must be removed from city limits. Owner Jenny Moon appealed the notice, providing statements from family members and the dog’s vet.